Illustration Challenge #11: Each Peach Pear Plum

 

(My personal Illustration Challenge for 2017 is to complete one 'page spread' from a popular, modern or classic children's story each week, picked randomly from a hat. Using lines from the original text, I am re-creating the 'imagery' in my own way, just for fun!)

Apologies for the lateness of this post. I accidentally took two weeks off - woops! - partly due to the enormous fear of doing this book any justice at all, partly due to illness and end-of-term-birthday shenanigans getting in the way, and partly due to not really feeling brave enough to continue with this one, but I did any way.

Bear with me on this one. Please.

It is me being a little odd again.

I have my original copy of this book from when I was a kid and love it dearly.

Each Peach Pear Plum, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, published in 1978.

The original text runs two lines to each page, and Janet's illustrations are what make this book so enticing to small children (and won her lots of awards):

Each peach, pear, plum

I spy Tom Thumb

Tom Thumb in the cupboard

I spy Mother Hubbard

Mother Hubbard in the cellar

I spy Cinderella

Cinderella on the stairs

I spy Three Bears

Three Bears out hunting

I spy Baby Bunting

Baby Bunting fast asleep

I spy Bo Peep

Bo Peep on the hill

I spy Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill in the ditch

I spy the Wicked Witch

Wicked Witch over the wood

I spy Robin Hood

Robin Hood in his den

I spy three bears again

Three bears still hunting

They spy Baby Bunting

Baby Bunting safe and dry

I spy Plum Pie

Plum Pie in the sun, I spy...

EVERYONE!

(words A. Ahlberg)

Gorgeous isn't it? Do look at the book because I also think the illustrations are educational too. Janet always included household objects that were normal for their era (clothes mangles, coal buckets, tin baths...)

So instead of simply doing an illustration for one of the verses, I got a crazy idea in my head to modernise the whole thing. It all started with me imagining Bo Peep as a student-teacher, losing her 'sheep', the kids in her care, because she's too busy texting.

And because I love words, and playing round with them, from that Bo Peep idea I wrote a modern version; a modern version based on the crazy technological revolution of the 21st century...

Each peach, pear, plum

I spy Tom Thumb

Tom Thumb shooting zombies in the cupboard

I spy Mother Hubbard

Mother Hubbard Skyping her fella

I spy Cinderella

Cinderella buying real-estate shares

I spy Three Bears

Three Bears Geo Caching

I spy the Baby monitor flashing

Baby quiet now, fast asleep

I spy Bo Peep

Bo Peep texting, still

I spy Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill have a technical glitch

I spy the Wicked Witch

Wicked Witch cyber-trolling (not good!)

I spy Robin Hood

Robin Hood messaging his men

I spy Three Bears again

Three Bears still Geo Caching

They spy the Baby monitor flashing

Baby now safe and dry

I spy FREE WI FI

FREE WI FI in the sun, I spy...

EVERYONE!

So after that long introduction, here is the image to go with one of the verses.